12-year-old girl locks herself in room, police negotiators called in, Singapore News
A 12-year-old girl has been arrested by the police after she locked herself in a room of her Yishun HDB flat.
The police received a call for assistance at Block 348A Yishun Avenue 11 on Sunday (June 1) at around 3pm.
In response to AsiaOne's queries, the police said that the girl had locked herself in a room of a residential unit.
After assessing that the girl might pose a danger to herself, the Special Operations Command, Crisis Negotiation Unit (CNU) and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) were activated.
Speaking to AsiaOne, SCDF said that a safety life air pack was deployed as a precautionary measure.
The police managed to gain entry to the room at around 4.55pm, after which the girl was apprehended under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act 2008.
Under Section 7(1), it is the duty of police officers to apprehend any individual who they believe are a danger to themselves or to others on the basis of suspected mental disorder.
No injuries were reported, according to the police.
The CNU is a specialised unit of the Singapore Police Force that handles critical events such as hostage incidents, civil disobedience, kidnapping and attempted suicides.
It is an auxiliary unit managed by the Special Operations Command and comprises police officers and psychologists who are secondary appointment holders in the SPF performing duties as negotiators, in addition to their primary duties.
Last December, the unit was deployed to a HDB unit in Hougang when a middle-aged man reportedly locked himself inside his unit.
The police were engaged in a four-hour standoff and only managed to leave at midnight after eventually ensuring the safety of residents in the unit. Samaritans of Singapore: 1800-221-4444
Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019
Care Corner Counselling Centre (Mandarin): 1800-353-5800
Institute of Mental Health's Mental Health Helpline: 6389-2222
Silver Ribbon: 6386-1928
[[nid:718537]]
dana.leong@asiaone.com
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